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In solidarity with Black Lives Matter-Therapeutic Skin Coach
The intention to not post for the last week has been to create space in order to #amplifymelanatedvoices However, as a licensed esthetician and business owner with a platform, it's important for me to share how I will continue to stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. 
Acne without the stigma. -Therapeutic Skin Coach
If you know me, you know I love movies. I especially love this time of year when all of the year’s best movies are recognized and the industry that rules the city I live in gets to showcase its most impressive talents. Each aspect of the movie-making process is honored, including the makeup department which is often overlooked as a vital part of the process unless the film includes impressive prosthetics. The film that really got me to notice their makeup departments artistic choices was Lady Bird.
Skin Solutions for the body-Therapeutic Skin Coach
I have to admit that when I do a facial I mostly do consider what’s going directly on the face. But as you can imagine, since skin covers the whole body it isn’t the only place in which we can experience imbalance. The skin is a communicator of what is going on internally so it can be difficult to determine why we all of a sudden could be experiencing a rash or breakout in an odd place. Skin conditions that aren't on the face can be just as damaging to our self-esteem. With these weather shifts and increase in the holiday celebrating there are a few pesky skin conditions that most of us struggle with but never talk about. Today I want to talk about how to support your whole body for best body skin practices.
Physical and emotional scars-Therapeutic Skin Coach
A common topic that has been brought up to me over the last few weeks has been scarring. Whether it’s a physical scar or just the emotional aftermath of a bad breakout, this topic is very difficult for anyone who has suffered from an inflammatory skin condition. Remember when we thought scars were cool when the rugged bad boys from the movies would proudly wear one? Scars have a bit of a backstory and most of them can be worn as a badge of honor. That is unless they are a painful reminder of a previous breakout or other skin imbalance. So many clients are concerned about potential scarring from their previous acne that they would literally do anything to make it go away. For the client whose main concern is scarring and I tend to ease their mind by reminding them that not all scars are created equal and with the right homework they will turnover their cells enough to smooth out their skin. In order to to do there are a few questions to be taken into consideration first:
Traveling Skin Blues-Therapeutic Skin Coach
Over the last weekend, I had a lot of new and regular clients ask about the inevitability of stressed skin during travel. I was certain that I addressed this on a blog somewhere but realized that this subject has been skipped almost entirely in the last 2 years of the blog! What a disservice this has been! Traveling is already so frustrating and stressful so the last thing you want to worry about is your skin having a meltdown as a result. Though I’m not the expert on extensive travel (I’ve never been to Europe or across any major ocean), I have traveled for 24 hours plus before and to multiple climates. I also have experienced just about any major setback as in lost luggage, flights canceled, and the sprained ankle while crossing borders (remember that?), so I can speak to the unexpected. Since I have a major trip aka my HONEYMOON coming up soon as well I wanted to take the opportunity to talk about prep for in case of emergency so your skin doesn’t go crazy.
Love.-Therapeutic Skin Coach
What I’ve learned over the last decade of skin therapy work is that I’m one incredibly empathic human. I feel everything. I’ve learned just about everything I can know about marriage, divorce, heartbreak, childbirth, miscarriage and grief from my clients. Little did my clients throughout the years know, they helped me tune into my heart to make some of the most difficult decisions I ever had to when it comes to love and loss. I continuously find myself holding space for people in some of the most tumultuous times. The therapeutic skin coach approach was to help you get to the root of the emotional issue just as much as the physical, so naturally your life events come up in conversation because it's all connected. You can't have glowing skin if you're disconnected from your experience. I wanted to share some of the most valuable lessons in love that I picked up along the way.
When the roles reversed...-Therapeutic Skin Coach
Last week I had my first session with a health coach and within 10 minutes I was a sobbing mess. Many people may not make the connection of emotion and nutrition but for me the two go hand in hand. I have never really had a beautiful connection with my food even though I love food, cooking and everything about social dining. When you pretty much always feel shitty, are bloated and followed by a case of nausea or diarrhea - you start to dread your next meal. Over the last 5 or 6 years that started to change, and I thank my husband for that. James introduced me to a new style of cooking and meal prepping that I began looking forward to eating together and it’s one of our greatest past times. I finally felt a connection to food unlike I have before. And if you’ve ever eaten with me, you know that I eat well. I’m healthy and gravitate towards options that are balanced and not too heavy. It never mattered to me that my new relationship with food meant that there would be weight gain because I finally felt like I could eat and not suffer.
Holding space and letting go...-Therapeutic Skin Coach
I’ve been so excited to come to back to this very spot and write to all of you for this week’s post. As much as I want to jump on the bandwagon of writing a gift guide or a holiday how-to, it’s a little overplayed and I’m a little late in the game. My intention behind this post is to talk about space. Whether it’s holding it, giving it, receiving it or simply understanding your need for it - it is an essential part of growth and healing. Space is something I have often not allowed myself the time to have for many reasons that at the end of the day are all fear based. I don’t give myself time to relax, be alone, or just not busy often because I’ve been nervous about what will come up for me. While on my honeymoon I finally got it, that space I was seeking and so much came up for me.
Reading between the lines...-Therapeutic Skin Coach
Just the other day I got to catch up with an old friend that I worked with at my first job as an esthetician. We were on the phone for over 2 hours catching up on the years that had passed by. While reminiscing she reminded me that as early as 19 years old I approached my skin care practice the same as I do now - with an integrative approach. It sort of hit me that I have always just looked at skin care a certain way that may not have been the norm back then but is slowly starting to become mainstream. I have been asking about diet and hormone health since day one because I recognized early on that skin is a reflection of our health and we didn’t have to suffer with the imbalances without finding the root cause first. When I meet someone for their first appointment with me I send over a 12 question health history consultation that scratches the surface on your internal health. I need that background to shed some light on what I can do to your skin as well as an understanding of where you are physically and emotionally. I want to break down why I ask certain questions to help you gain a better understanding of how it’s all connected and why I have to read between the lines...
My everyday skin hacks-Therapeutic Skin Coach
Great skin comes from a few different factors. Good genes are ideal, a healthy lifestyle is always a plus, and some results-driven products can usually turn most conditions around. However, there are a few things that I do daily that can really take your skin from great to GRAND almost immediately. I like to call these my skin hacks, mostly because they are free and simple. Today I'm going to walk you through the few that I do pretty much every day and make the biggest difference in my skin's success.
Girl Boss all day, everyday-Therapeutic Skin Coach
Over the weekend I was gifted a day off by the universe as I was attempting to squeeze too much in and once again my body said; “slow down and take care of me”. Why I have to learn this continuously is something I am working on, I promise. However, I cancelled my day and my bed was my new office and rest was my new assignment. I gave in and pulled up one of my favorite recipes for rest - Netflix. I’m really impressed with Netflix nowadays for being able to constantly rotate content as well as have new shows and movies. I mean we’ve all fallen in love with “The OA” and “Stranger Things” so the bar is set high, so when I hear the reviews of “girl boss” I was a bit bummed because I wanted it to be great. I love the Nasty Gal story and so I figured I would give it a shot since I was sequestered to my bed anyway. With 30 minute episodes, it was easy to move through the series quickly (and shamelessly) and once I was done I felt I related to the story so much. A few days before I started watching the series I felt a little down on myself for having dedicated almost 11 years to a career and to only feel like I am just starting to grow. I might be a late bloomer, or a slow bloomer, but I was starting to fall down the spiral of comparing myself to others and wondering why I wasn’t able to achieve certain goals yet. My dream vacation is still awaiting me, hello! So as I’m trying to manifest my Therapeutic Skin Coach empire I realized that the story of Sophia Amoruso really spoke to my young entrepreneurial journey. For one, we both started in 2006 and secondly we were both so young (I - 18 and she - 23). So instead of allowing myself to be swallowed by the pit of comparison and jealously what I took from the series was a few basic lessons and reminders. Here is what I learned:
Education.-Therapeutic Skin Coach
As I continue on my annual reflective journey with my birthday rapidly approaches, a common theme coming up for me in my daily work is one of education. Whether it’s because of the people who reach out to me for my expertise or the time I spend to educate myself on any of my multiple subjects of interest.I spend a lot of time applying the knowledge I have gained during my time as an esthetician that I have just recently started accepting the role of an educator. Yes, I know I don’t have a teaching degree but the basis of my work centers around education. The tricky part about my line of work is that it isn’t always valued as an esteemed profession. As I previously mentioned in my “perception” and “becoming an esthetician” pieces, I had to trust my instinct and ignore the naysayers when I chose this path.
Spiritual Awakening. -Therapeutic Skin Coach
When coming up with the title to this week’s post I honestly attempted to find synonyms for the word “spiritual”. Nothing seemed to fit the essence of what I wanted to write about so I decided to stick with it however I had a visual of my readers immediately clicking past an article of this subject. What would spirituality have to do with skincare? If you hear me out you will make the connection I promise. The mind, body and spirit approach is necessary for a full recovery for any sort of imbalance going on in our lives. I believe that we all have a strong intuitive sense of what we need. Whether it’s our basic human instincts to choose foods that are will nourish us to who are the people we want to spend our days with. A lot of my daily decisions and practices are based on my intuition. I try to help my clients tap into their intuition by giving them the power to choose what’s best for them and creating connections between mind, body and spirit. Whether it’s by asking the right questions that lead them to the answer they had in them all along, or it’s by honoring them if something is not resonating with them. I don’t force upon a practice that doesn’t work but I also help you breakthrough the blocks when nothing seems to be progressing. It’s taken a long time for me to tap into my own sense of intuition and release some of the blocks that hold me back from living my most abundance life, but it all started with my acceptance of my spiritual path and the awakening it lead me to.
I'm about to get real honest here...-Therapeutic Skin Coach
If you know me, you know that one of my best and worst qualities is that I’m a workaholic. I get a lot done in a day but it’s often at the expense of having a social life or taking a vacation. Being in a service based industry I rely on my clients to pay my bills and regardless of manifesting major abundance over the last several years, I still think that I can't stop taking the work. It never dawns on me until I realize how little I was able to see my parents when they visited for 3 weeks, how I’m booked in every day my husband has off, and how I am hardly available to attend the events of my community members. It’s really vulnerable for me to admit this to myself because I often get the response of “you’re probably too busy, I’ll just book with you next month” and my answer will always be “I’m never too busy for you”. I’m so honored that people reach out to me for facials and rarely will I ever say no because I genuinely love the work. So when my wonderful mother-in-law offered to assist my husband and me with a trip for our honeymoon last Christmas, I knew this was my opportunity to take an unapologetic vaca. However, as the last few weeks went by and we were slowly approaching the honeymoon of my dreams, I started to panic. That’s when I realized that Mercury was going into retrograde and if I know anything about this weird shift in the universe, it’s that it is an opportunity to test your faith in a higher power and my ability to handle anything with grace. So here it goes...
2018; the year of finally loving the skin you're in-Therapeutic Skin Coach
I honestly can’t believe we are in our last week of 2017. I know that when 2017 started I was sitting high with expectations but was also riddled with anxiety with what was to come. The shifts that have occurred were not always what I expected. Some have been what I have feared, but others have truly changed me for the better. Now I feel grounded in what I anticipate may be the first ever year I finally feel comfortable in my skin. It’s easy to look like you have it all together but when certain things finally do click in your life it can shift your entire perspective. I try my very best to educate all of my clients that when they finally surrender to let this shift happen they actually start to love the reflection in the mirror. So today I want to talk about why 2018 is the year of finally loving the skin you’re in…
I'm so not a salesperson...-Therapeutic Skin Coach
My husband and I realized something about me recently. If you get a chance to sit with me for a lunch, facial or just a brief encounter in the grocery store - you may end up indulging me with your life story. The name “therapeutic skin coach” is not 100% based on my experience as an esthetician. For as long as I can remember I have the type of personality that immediately comforts someone to have them share their life with me. It makes sense that when I first signed up for college I simply put “psychology” down as my option for a major since I have sort of always felt like a bit of a therapist. That being said it hasn’t always been easy to be an esthetician. Estheticians wear many, many hats that unless you walk in our shoes, you may not realize how much we have to do. First, we need to be able to analyze just about any skin condition. There are many party conversations that turn to “you should take a look at this thing on my back ” or a text with attached photo that says “what do you think this might be?”. Secondly, we need to be able to run our businesses. I have to place orders, manage my business accounts, set up projections for myself and have to keep my permits, licenses and insurances all up to date. Things I never thought I’d have to worry about or rather even know anything about. Probably one of the most important parts of the job however is sales. I have to sell myself, sell you on my service, sell you on my products, sell you on everything. And you know what, I’m so not a sales person.
Why I love the dentist-Therapeutic Skin Coach
I am one of those people who actually likes going to the dentist. My mom worked at a dentist from when I was 10 to 28 so I basically grew up around the office. It was also my first job assisting around the office so I understood the culture of preventative care which is why I’ve never had a cavity or any oral care issues. When I moved to LA back in 2012 I didn’t have health insurance and could not find a dentist for the life of me. All of a sudden a few years had gone by and I started to notice some plaque on my teeth. I knew that proper oral hygiene is the key to overall good health but months became years and all of a sudden I blinked and found myself 6 years without my teeth getting cleaned professionally. Trust me, I barely admitted it to my mother or myself because I felt so shamed about it. I was relying on my genetically good teeth and ability to always brush my teeth and floss but I knew it wasn’t enough. That is when the incredible Dr. Karla Solis came into my life. I was introduced to her over a year ago and she has brought me back to a place of faith in my oral care because not only does sitting in a dentist chair feel oddly nostalgic and comforting to me but also she’s an incredible holistic dentist. I saw her yesterday and we got to talking about some similarities in our fields and that’s what I want to talk about today.
Perception.-Therapeutic Skin Coach
It’s officially August 1st so this means it is the last official month of my 20s. A lot usually comes up for me right before my birthday because I physically feel a chapter writing itself to a close. I become very reflective about where my life is going as well as what I’ve learned from the previous 11 months. I can safely say that my 20s have been a decade of epic growth that I can wax poetic on it all day. Over the last week I have been incredibly fortunate that the universe has graciously presented me with multiple gifts of self care which has helped me tune into my reflective period. Honing into that voice in my head that is screaming at me to finally shed some of the barriers I’ve held up for as long as I remember. The one that screams itself the loudest is simply to be my most authentic self. So as I continue to write I want to dive a little deeper into the themes that has led me to where I am now, living an authentic life of my choosing with the world as my oyster.
What's your intention?-Therapeutic Skin Coach
Every day we set an intention for ourselves, whether we are conscious of it or not. I get to work on a diverse group of people all the time and there are two major things that I see as a commonality amongst my clients time and time again: 1 - They all have skin (duh) and 2 - There are disconnects with their intention for themselves and intention for their skin. You can’t commit to being healthy or loving to yourself and exclude your skin in that factor. Your skin is part of the package people so it’s important to remember that you can put forth just as much love in your skin as you do everything else. So how do you start setting intentions for your skin? Here’s how to do it.
Express gratitude and embrace change...-Therapeutic Skin Coach
When I was in beauty school I remember how a lesson in acne led into one of the most powerful life-changing discussions. We were exploring the root causes of acne and how that can be related to stress on all accounts (physical, emotional, etc.). The simple solution our guest teacher had for stress management was to express gratitude and embrace change. At 18, this had me totally shook! It was so simple but it was something I never really sat down to think about how the combination of those two seemingly simple action could turn your entire life, and health, around. My expression of gratitude is a daily practice, however, I do like to take the opportunity to sit deeply on this topic whenever I can. So with Thanksgiving around the corner, I wanted to share my gratitude for the year with all of you. 2017 was not at all what I expected, especially since 2016 felt like we all were hit by a bus. I sort of expected it to be a little easier but with so many life changes it’s easy to think back on it now and realize that this year was going to be a big one. Emotionally, financially, physically, all the things just grew towards a new level I never thought was possible. Without my gratitude practice, I don’t think I could see this year as positively as I do but the old saying still runs true: what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. That’s where the embracing change part creeps in. It’s one thing to express gratitude but when life is throwing you all sorts of curve balls, it’s how you embrace the journey that truly transforms you.
An ode to my dark circles...-Therapeutic Skin Coach
When I wake up in the morning I don't often get to go and meditate, set an intention, and journal for 20 minutes. I would love to continue the facade that my industry has created and have you think that I'm as well-balanced as some other bloggers seem, but I'm not. Most mornings I'm up by 6:15/6:30, I throw my hair up into a messy bun, grab my glasses and start my list of to-dos. Lately, this has included training my new puppy, Josie. Josie is a dream come true for my husband and I but this little babe has definitely thrown a wrench into my little Virgo controlling lifestyle. My sleep is all off, I'm having to run out the door to potty train, I'm trying to clean up all her toys, all just in time to me to take on my first client of the day. I couldn't be more grateful for her but it's been rough. When I finally do get a chance to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror I notice the subtle changes that this new life has brought. My face is a little less radiant than usual and my eyes are puffy, dark and extra tired. But the truth is I like my dark circles. There, I said it! I am a skin therapist and I am admitting to liking something about myself that isn't perfect.
What I've had done...-Therapeutic Skin Coach
Yes, I mean exactly what it sounds like. Today I want to talk about what I've had "done" as an esthetician as well as what I haven't and why. People ask me this all the time because they want to know if I have a big secret to my skin's success. I've been taking care of my skin for a long time and given the perks of being in the industry I've been able to try a lot of things. There are things I also haven't tried but performed on others. It's sort of a mixed bag but I'm very excited to share this once and for all.
Sun Care SOS part 2-Therapeutic Skin Coach
To follow up from last week’s post I wanted to discuss the most positive thing I noticed over Memorial Day weekend. Over the years I have heavily influenced my husband’s relationship with sunscreen. This is a man who grew up in Texas and can tolerate sun and heat unlike many other auburn haired, Irish descendants. Reason being is that his skin has been trained to tolerate heat because of where he grew up as well as having other heritage factors that make him more tolerant of heavy heat levels. So regardless of all these factors, James has unfortunately experienced some gnarly burns over the years and after enough wife nagging, he has shifted many of his old habits. During our camping trip he was the first person to apply sunscreen prior to heavy sun exposure and to reapply throughout the course of our time in the sun. He turned to me at one point and said “I think I just have to apply every 30 minutes in order to not burn”. I almost cried tears of joy in that very moment. YES! HE GETS IT! This type of attitude can infectiously spreads because once you see someone caring for their skin it triggers the thought that maybe you should do the same. As soon as the sunscreen was out, others would start asking for a round of cover up. When I talk about sun care, I don’t necessarily only mean sunscreen. Sun care to me means how you are caring for your skin from the sun. Sunscreen is a huge and non-negotiable factor but I am talking about extra preventative steps such as the following:
Intuitive Skincare. -Therapeutic Skin Coach
This weekend I had 3 clients in a row tell me about their person experience with strong intuitive pulls. The first noticed some strong coincidences between her and a new person in her life. The second was very specific in the signs that she asked the universe for (and received them). And the third had a gut feeling about a previous skin therapist she worked with. Sometimes you just know things and there is no rhyme or reason behind it. That is your intuition tapping in to help guide you. That “I just know” feeling is not something that is taught but it can make the most impactful shifts when you listen in. When I first started my skincare practice I had to really tune into my intuition. Most spas that I had worked for had a set protocol and formula to what they wanted their services providers to follow so I felt silenced in a lot of what I truly wanted to convey to my clients. The good thing is that behind closed doors in the treatment room I would usually break the rules and talk about what I felt was truly going on. Whether it was my intuition telling me that my client needed a quiet facial to soothe their nervous system or that they needed to talk about what was really going on in their lives, I wouldn’t structure the facial around selling product or upgrading the treatment. I knew that when I was going to start to build my practice, I would have to create an environment in which I could build the treatment as it needed to unfold. Those intuitive pulls became so much more powerful once I dropped the tight structure of a spa’s idea of what works for the client. I use those same instincts to decide what to use on skin, whether it’s my own or yours. So how can you tap into that yourself? Here are my top 3 intuitive tips for the best custom skincare.
Facing Fears-Therapeutic Skin Coach
It’s easy for me to skip over the synchronicities that lead me to pick the topic of my blog post each week but over the last few days, I faced and realized a couple of fears of mine while hearing a lot of the fears from my clients. Sometimes it’s something as small as the fear of a post facial breakout or it can be as serious as feeling like you can’t look in the mirror without shame. Fear, to me, is simply false evidence appearing real however regardless of the times that I say this and the advice I give to others on how to overcome fear - I still face some major fears that can honestly paralyze me. So what can we do when we still have fears we know we have to face?
Why makeup is a luxury, not a necessity.-Therapeutic Skin Coach
If you’ve ever had a treatment with me you know that in my consultation form my very last question is what is your ultimate skin goal? I wrote a post about year ago about becoming makeup free and since then the most common answer to my skin goal question still remains the same - to be makeup free. I may have done a few of you a disservice by immediately exclaiming how easy that goal is because of my personal relationship with makeup. I grew up obsessed with makeup to the point that if I could translate the equivalent of my obsession to the current time, I would 100% be one of those instagram/snapchat/youtube tutorial gals. I loved creating looks, doing other people’s makeup and I was praised for my natural ability in this department. I booked jobs all the time in the beginning of my career that I can safely say that the spring and summers of 2007 and 2008 were spent with me at my makeup counter dolling gals up for events like prom, graduation and weddings. I loved it but it also taught me a lot about how many people lacked confidence, self awareness and even struggled with a little body/facial dysmorphia. My love of makeup started because of artistry but my relationship to it on an everyday basis changed because of my own evolution of self love and acceptance. So with that, I want to dive back into how being makeup free has nothing to do with skincare, it has everything to do with acceptance.
My social media anxieties-Therapeutic Skin Coach
I go through the typical love/hate stages with social media often. Most of the time I can get past the obvious social media sensitivities like “how come this person is always on vacation?” or “this person posts so much better content than me.” but sometimes I get triggered and it’s taken me a little perspective and self care to uncover what those fears were really stemming from. First, I am a firm believer that we are all in it to win it so my comparison attitude is based from a deep rooted crippling perfectionism that I have only started shedding over the last 2 years - obviously something I need to work on a little more. I do feel like we all can be successful and it takes for me to see how someone else is successful to remind me that I can do it too. Trust me there are times that I have woken up from dreams that all of a sudden the new trend is to not treat your skin and I would be completely out of work. But after 11 years I still manage to get more questions, new clients and seem to be increasing in my success with each year. So why does an instagram sometimes make me want to give up? Or at least crawl under a pillow for a few hours.
Timelines for your skin-Therapeutic Skin Coach
One question I am constantly faced with regarding skin concerns is a timeline on when things will be better. I hate to break it to y’all but putting a timeline on your health is like telling God your plans - it doesn’t work out that way. There are a few things you can do to help create a plan for yourself but when dealing with a live organ that reflects the imbalances of your internal organs, there is only so much you can control. I want to run through a few steps to help you stay on track when things seem to be going nowhere or even feels like you’re taking a few steps backward.
What every city transplant needs for their skin care-Therapeutic Skin Coach
Due to the universal pull of abundance I’ve been manifesting I recently had a considerable amount of new clients. One thing that most of them had in common was that they were recent transplants to LA. Without even seeing them I already knew what they would be dealing with. Each individual had a completely different background and circumstance yet they all were experiencing a common Skin Food Talk category of skin imbalance. Since I’m co-founder and lead the skincare side of Skin Food Talk I already knew what would be common symptoms because they were experiencing compromised detoxification organs that led to inflammation and irritations. So why is it that this happens to nearly every city transplant? As someone who has lived in 3 states, 2 countries and countless homes, I can confidently say I’m the expert of this topic. Here are my top 3 skin care tips for new city transplants:
Consistency might be key, but why do we sometimes drop off?-Therapeutic Skin Coach
Last week I got my first facial in well over half a year. Mind you I take great care of my skin but a true facial is rare for me. I felt so incredible afterward that I actually said: “wow, this must be why I’m in business!” People ask me all the time, how often do you get a facial? And it’s sort of embarrassing that the answer is almost always never. The reason why comes in two parts; 1 - I don’t work in a spa setting anymore where I am able to get treatments with my coworkers on my downtime. 2 - I’m really not the best when it comes to consistency with services. My hair seems to always be a few months out from when I should have gotten it cut, I am a little late on follow-ups with my healers, I don’t get massages nearly as often as I need to, my exercise schedule is never consistent and most of the time an appointment gets prompted by someone else who is bugging me to book. I’m truly grateful for those prompts and utilize them just as much in my practice because of my own failure to launch when it comes to active consistency. So why do we get stuck? I want to explore a little bit of that today since I’m right there with you and what to do to navigate it all.
Acceptance. -Therapeutic Skin Coach
I was so fortunate to celebrate my birthday with some of my favorite people this weekend. I wanted to express my gratitude for those of you who wished me a happy birthday and allowed me to take a much needed digital detox. I had an epiphany of what I was hoping to finally release as my last moments of my 20s wrapped to a close. That epiphany was to work a heck of a lot less. I’ve been working multiple jobs for as long as I can remember and with the obvious physical side effects of overworking it also was a bit of a cover up for me. If I overwork that means that I can live in a cycle of overworking followed by much needed escapism. Escapism is basically an avoidance of self care masking as a reset time. Like binge watching tv, online retail therapy or avoiding exercise with the excuse that it's a necessary day off. A little escapism here and there is totally fine but the most important thing to remember is to actually tune back into your needs when you're off. I'm lucky enough to have a job that is so fulfilling but this decade I'm dedicated to practicing what I preach a little more. This means taking my days off and being just as nice to myself as I advise all of you to be. Let's see how this goes!
Healthy Skin vs. Perfect Skin -Therapeutic Skin Coach
As a person who heavily identifies with the struggles of being a perfectionist I do notice that I tend to have a physical response to the word itself - "Perfect". When someone tells me they want “perfect” skin, it really hurts my heart because it creates an emotional block that we have to investigate. I have tried to overlook the term as it has followed me around my whole life, but it’s gotten to the point now where I am doing you a disservice if I don’t correct this terminology. Healthy skin does not equal perfect skin. I’m going to repeat that: HEALTHY SKIN DOES NOT EQUAL PERFECT SKIN. Health is an ongoing journey to bettering yourself for the sake of feeling good while having love, acceptance and appreciation for yourself. Perfection is not attainable and generally comes from a place of low self worth, self loathing or simple delusion that you have to fit a mold. As someone who has struggled with anxiety their entire life, it’s easy for me to fall into my perfectionist trap and unknowingly use the term with intent on delivering a positive message. So today I want to breakdown the differences of why healthy skin doesn’t equal perfect skin and advice on how to shift your mindset towards acceptance in being your true self.
Understanding your value and worth. -Therapeutic Skin Coach
One of the hardest parts of owning a business for me is the financial side of it. As you may all know by now I’m not a business major who has had a set plan from the start of my business. I was literally left with no other option but to start my own business after leaving my last spa job when I had shingles. Everyone has an opinion when it comes to how much my services are worth but at the end of the day it came down to how much I value myself. Starting this at 27 out of fear of going broke there were many times when I undervalued myself just to get people in the door. What never dawned on me was that when I worked in other offices I was doing $300 services and my clientele never blinked on the cost. So why was it hard for me to recognize that I’m worth the industry standard (and much more).
Stop Picking Your Skin!-Therapeutic Skin Coach
I think we can all agree that one of the worst skin habits to have is picking at one’s skin. Actually, it’s THE worst habit to have. I can live with a “I forgot to wash my makeup off” every once in awhile or even a “I use cetaphil to wash my face”, but there is no good reason to pick your skin. Trust me I’ve heard it all; “It was ready” - How do you know? Are you a licensed esthetician? “I did it mindlessly” - Perhaps in your sleep but most scabs indicate to me that it wasn’t just a mindless attack. I’ve fallen victim to picking at my skin from an early age and since I obviously made a career out of it, I understand the urge to do it. The truth is that it comes down to two theories: A - You actually think you are an esthetician and after watching enough Dr. Pimple Popper youtube videos so you feel confident you can extract your skin flawlessly. Or B - There is an emotional connection to why you are attacking your face. It may be anxiety or the need to control something when your life feels out of sorts however there is an underlying issue that your face doesn’t deserve to feel the retaliation from. So what can you do? There are so many ways to transition out of this habit and I’ve broken it down into 3 simple steps.
Why you're not taking advice...-Therapeutic Skin Coach
At the risk of starting this post like I’m about to go on a rant, I just want to preface that there is some education squeezed in here so keep reading to get to the good stuff. I can’t help but get a little annoyed when a client tells me that they were given advice by someone else when it goes one of two ways. Either the advice is something I’ve been trying to drill in my client’s heads but they seem to only hear it from someone else. Or it’s completely conflicting with my advice but they take it instead! Maybe it’s the youngest child syndrome but I do have a really hard time with people not listening to me. If you take the time to come to see me, spend time telling me everything about your skin and health, and then decide that my advice isn’t for you - that’s one thing. However, I find that the issue lies more with people who are seeking a very specific result are not only completely shutting my advice off but look to me to blame when things aren’t getting better. This may seem harsh, but you can understand my frustration. 95% of my clientele are very compliant and benefit greatly from my feedback because it’s personally tailored to them. So why do the 5% not take the advice? I can’t answer with certainty but my impression (and personal experience with being a client myself) tells me that there is a huge block that needs to come down first.
A new kind of resolution-Therapeutic Skin Coach
You know that feeling you have when the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve and you feel like you can start anew? That feeling can be awfully intimidating and exhilarating at the same time. To feel the pressure to shed old habits overnight can oftentimes set us up for failure which can eventually lead to shame. This year, I set a new intention. One without the shackling feeling that a resolution may previously have had. The intention was inspired by my last client of the year, Cassie of Candid Health, which is to take things one day at a time. We all have different ways of working through patterns and releasing what needs to be let go and in the past when I would find myself backtracking more than anything if I set a strict resolution up for myself. Like a lot of entrepreneurs, I march to the beat of my own drum and regardless of my work ethic where I could go about a busy schedule with no problem, it was never fulfilling and I would fall back hard to old patterns and escapism. The intention to take things one day at a time for a workaholic like me is the most freeing and self-loving act I can think of at this point in my life.
Sun care SOS Part 1-Therapeutic Skin Coach
I went camping for a few days over Memorial Day weekend and as fun as it was it also honestly felt like a case study in sun care. Don’t worry, this isn’t a post to chastise anyone on their sunscreen use, it’s more of an observational piece about the different educations people have about sun care in general. When it comes to sun care, regardless of where you are from, your skin color and whatever else comes to mind as an excuse to avoid daily care - you need sun protection. So before you tell yourself your melanin activity is enough to avoid reading this think again. I’m going to break this down into two parts. Part 1 will be about the common misconceptions, old myths and what’s commonly neglected. So let’s begin:
Becoming attached: Why the rules of dating often apply to my work-Therapeutic Skin Coach
When it comes to my relationships with clients it feels like I often have to play by the rules of dating. Over the last decade I feel like I have experienced a non stop rotation of new, existing and returning clients. Every day I get several inquiries about how someone found me and I’m the answer to their skin prayers. I mindfully reply back and then - nothing. Since I have been with my husband for almost 6 years I missed the era of online dating, so I find that I still play a very old school part in courting someone. When a client ghosts me I get confused and think “didn’t you reach out to me?”. I also get broken up with by clients. I find that as strong as my return rate is there are many reasons why some people don’t come back. As an empathetic healer there are a lot of lessons I have to continuously learn again and again because I become heavily invested in each case. Whether a client ghosts me or gives me a very thoughtful reason why they can no longer see me, it still somehow manages to sting. There are many reasons why I think that a service providers clientele continues to evolve. I want to explore what may be holding back from taking the leap you need to trusting the process to finally achieving the skin of your dreams.
Our emotions and their energetically paired organs-Therapeutic Skin Coach
Over the last couple of months, I have found myself being able to immediately put into application some newfound knowledge. In the past, I may have learned something from a class or a program and any connection it would have for my life or work just didn't really click right away. I can’t even begin to tell you how my career path has been limited in the type of education that I have been seeking. Most classes were repetitive or sales-driven so my experience with clientele was my preferred form of continuing education. Each individual would have such a special case that I would find myself needing to do extensive research to help them get to the root of their case. From doing this type of custom care I found myself really getting to know the ins and outs of how the body works on a physical level. What recently clicked for me was the connection between emotion and your internal systems. So when you are experiencing a chronic emotion, what physical part of your body is out of balance?